Compromise proposal would have paid for benefits with savings found elsewhere in the federal budget

9:03 PM,
Jan. 14, 2014

Senator Rob Portman

Written by

Deirdre Shesgreen

Sen. Rob Portman joined other Republicans Tuesday in a successful filibuster of legislation to extend unemployment benefits, after Senate Democrats rejected his efforts to push a compromise that would have paid for the proposal.

The 55-to-45 vote in the Senate - which effectively killed the jobless aid package for now - came despite a bleak report last week showing the economy added only 74,000 jobs in December, the fewest since January 2011. Democrats needed 60 votes to cut off debate on the measure and move to final passage.